Better Health for All

Krones' process for recycling post-consumer PET into food contact materials achieves a decontamination efficiency of 93.6% to over 99.9%, ensuring the recycled material is safe for food contact according to EU regulations and EFSA guidelines.

This technology, part of Krones' upgraded MetaPure W washing module, contributes significantly to food safety. The company also offers plastic-free secondary packaging solutions, such as the LitePac Top paperboard clip, which was adopted by Mahou San Miguel in 2021, and provides equipment for tethered caps to comply with the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive by 2024.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Krones AG is a manufacturer of machinery and systems for the packaging, filling, and beverage industries. The company does not operate as a financial institution, nor does it offer lending, deposit services, or consumer credit products.

Consequently, all KPIs related to financial services, such as underserved client share, pricing fairness, exploitative fee exposure, inclusion initiatives (loan/insurance book), data accessibility (open-banking APIs), fair lending compliance, wealth building outcomes, profit reinvestment in community finance, financial literacy initiatives, debt burden ratio, geographic inclusion (banking deserts), and product simplicity (financial products), are not applicable to its core business model.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

The CEO's total compensation of €2,113,000 in 2024, compared to an estimated median employee salary of $132,723 (approximately €122,891), results in a CEO to median employee pay ratio of approximately 17.19:1.

Employee engagement is reflected by 76% of employees stating they would recommend working at the company, and an overall employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor. Additionally, 67% of employees report satisfaction with compensation and benefits. The company has no specific regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues mentioned in the provided articles, and no significant infractions in the past two years.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Krones conducts audits for human rights and environmental risks at least annually, and performs annual risk analyses of suppliers.

The company has reported zero substantiated incidents of forced or child labor in the last three years, with risk assessments indicating no significant risk at its sites or among suppliers.

Honest & Fair Business

Krones has a formal whistleblower policy, utilizing a web-based 'krones Integrity' system operated by an independent provider.

This system allows for anonymous or named reporting of various compliance breaches, including corruption, anti-competitive collusion, theft, money laundering, and data security breaches. However, there is no evidence provided regarding the independence of the investigation processes, the frequency of training, or the overall effectiveness of the program. Additionally, the company has a dedicated anti-corruption program with a zero-tolerance policy for bribery, blackmail, and conflicts of interest, which extends to requiring business partners to adhere to similar standards. Despite this, the available information does not detail the frequency of training or provide metrics to assess the program's enforcement or effectiveness.

Kind to Animals

Krones is actively involved in the alternative protein sector, providing process technology solutions for the production of meat and milk substitutes, and proteins from microalgae, fungi, and other microorganisms.

The company utilizes its bioreactor technology, specifically Steinecker's, for efficient biomass fermentation and has partnered with Food Brewer to scale alternative food production using precision fermentation and Steinecker's Poseidon bioreactor. However, the articles do not provide a specific percentage of Krones' R&D budget invested in these animal-free technologies, nor do they detail participation in multi-stakeholder initiatives to develop industry-wide animal-free testing and sourcing standards. Therefore, these KPIs are scored as N/A (0) due to the absence of quantitative data.

No War, No Weapons

Krones is a member of the UN Global Compact and has a Human Rights Statement.

The company also makes efforts to comply with the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (LkSG), which aligns with broader human rights principles. Krones publishes non-financial statements and KPI overviews, which likely include performance metrics related to human rights. The LkSG includes points that Krones had not previously explicitly categorized under human rights, such as the non-deployment of safety personnel to exert pressure or the presence of pollutants harmful to regional health. There is no explicit evidence regarding the company's core business being related to arms or defense, or any specific red lines needed for such activities.

Planet-Friendly Business

Krones' net-zero target is validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), aligning with the 1.5-degree Celsius target of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The company aims to achieve net-zero emissions along the entire value chain by 2040, based on 2019 figures, with at least a 90% reduction in emissions and the remaining 10% neutralized. Krones publishes a Climate Transition Plan (CTP) detailing its climate-friendly business strategies, targets, measures, and challenges. The company received an 'A' rating from CDP in the 'Climate Change' category in 2023, indicating advanced TCFD disclosures and climate-risk integration. Krones also received a 'B' rating from CDP in the 'Water Security' category in 2023, which includes climate scenario analysis.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Krones has a Krones Integrity System and a Compliance Help Desk where individuals can report incidents related to environmental law or human rights, which serves as a standard grievance process.

The company supports cultural projects with monetary and in-kind donations and services, but no specific percentage of reinvested funds is provided. Krones emphasizes a diversity of cultures, languages, and ways of life, and is actively discussing inclusive communication and 'gendering,' but no specific assessment score is given. Krones follows up on possible violations of labor legislation or human rights on a site, indicating a reactive response framework. A training program targeting employees in regular contact with third parties has been rolled out, but the percentage of employees completing cultural sensitivity training is not specified.

Safe & Smart Tech

Krones Information Management holds ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 20000 certifications.

The company states that users have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict, and object to data processing, aligning with GDPR compliance. Multi-factor authentication (2FA) is used for data centers and remote access. Krones conducts vulnerability and penetration testing by internal and external teams, and regularly tests, assesses, and evaluates security measures. Privacy and security considerations are integrated into service design. Data is stored only as needed for business purposes and legal obligations, with pseudonymization and anonymization used where possible. The company explicitly states compliance with GDPR and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). A Security Operations Center (SOC) was established in Bengaluru, India in 2019, growing to eight experts operating 24/7 to secure internal IT infrastructure globally. No bug bounty program details are provided.